The WBC has decreed that Jorge Posada will not be allowed to play in the tournament this spring. Jorge was eager to play for his native Puerto Rico, but it was announced today that the Yankees’ objection has been approved by the WBC, barring Jorge from participating.

While participation in the tournament is primarily the choice of the athlete, the organization for which they play does have the option to try to block their players’ involvement. According to the official WBC guidelines, any player currently under contract with the MLB must be approved by the WBC council, which is run by both the MLB and the MLB Players Association. In the event that a team does not want their player to participate, they must file an “objection” stating their reasons for the WBC to review. In Jorge’s case, the Yankees’ objection stated that he was an “indispensable” part of the Yankees and that playing in the tournament could jeopardize his ability to perform in the 2006 season. The WBC sided with the Yankees and deemed Jorge ineligible to play.

This is an interesting situation, because the Yankees made no fuss over Jeter or A-Rod’s involvement with the WBC, and one could argue that either one of them is more indispensable than Jorge. The Yankees are likely more concerned about Jorge because of his age and the fact that he is already showing signs of wear - - three weeks of intense, national pride-driven competition could wear on any player.

If I were the Yanks I'd be very concerned over what missing three weeks of Spring Training does with Jorge and his new pitching staff.

At the very least he needs to learn to catch Farnsworth and Myers, and I'm sure there will be other new additions before the season starts. That learning curve to catching a new pitcher can take time, and spending that time playing in the WBC wouldn't be good for the Yanks long term chances.

You're probably more correct in this argument than I am, I'm just trying to find a company line that doesn't say "Dude, you're old. You've got two years left and we can't have you expending 6 months worth of them in 3 weeks to play the WBC." :)

In 2009 Curtis Granderson published a book: All You Can Be: Dream It, Draw It, Become It! Granderson "shares the lessons that he learned growing up--the importance of family and choosing the right friends, the power of listening and staying positive, and most important, the value of being yourself."